Chapter 72: Tan Han’s First Experience at the Bakery
Just as I was thinking about how to talk to this aloof academic goddess again, I noticed Tan Han wandering around on her own.
But that didn’t quite make me lose my composure. However, Tan Han’s target wasn’t ordinary pastries or the finished products displayed in the showcase.
That was the “good stuff” that Senior Tang Yihan had deliberately set out for Senior Ying Shiqian!
From Senior Tang Yihan’s experimental creations, which one isn’t a dark dish enough to shake the taste buds? I could hardly imagine the expression on Tan Han’s face after tasting it!
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Tan Han looked at me in surprise, her hand’s movement paused, “Didn’t Store Manager Shali say we could taste freely?”
“Well, yes, but the cake in your hand… is Senior Tang Yihan’s experimental product, and I can’t say it’s tasty…”
“So does that mean I can try it?” Tan Han clearly didn’t grasp the focus of my statement and continued to use her fork to pick up a little bit of the cream on top and put it in her mouth.
“Uh… well, I suppose you can… haha… just forget what I said…” I watched her only pick up a tiny bit of cream and felt somewhat relieved that she wasn’t being reckless.
“The cream’s texture is quite nice.” Tan Han savored the flavor of the cream, then gave it a good review and casually gave it a thumbs up.
Then, she swiftly scooped up a spoonful from the piece she had cut, so quickly that I didn’t have time to react; after all, I thought she would stop here, but she ended up taking a big bite?
When I finally reacted, Tan Han had already sent the cake and its filling into her mouth.
In an instant, my tendency to feel awkward for others was triggered, and I saw Tan Han’s usually calm expression change.
I could sense that Tan Han was trying to restrain herself, but she still couldn’t help but reveal an uncomfortable expression.
“Ah… oh! Sorry, I thought you wouldn’t eat anymore; just spit it out! Don’t force yourself like this!” I hurriedly grabbed a tissue from beside and handed it over, “Do you want me to get you a cup of water?”
“Um… yes…”
After the initial shock, Tan Han instinctively took the tissue I handed over, but in the end, she swallowed it down. I seemed to catch a glimpse of a tiny, sparkling pearl forming at the corner of her eye.
“Sorry… please get me a cup of water…”
Ultimately, she couldn’t resist and accepted my offer.
“Alright, just a moment…”
I quickly went to get a cup and fetched some water for her. With the transition to water, Tan Han seemed to calm down a bit.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing; I just should have stopped you… Sorry.”
This time, my apology was sincere; for Tan Han to come here as a guest and end up experiencing that was unfortunate. I hope the Store Manager wouldn’t deduct my wages for this.
“There’s no need to apologize; I didn’t expect… Senior Tang’s experimental product to be so… unique…” Tan Han put down the tissue and pulled out a few more sheets to wipe the moisture at the corner of her mouth.
“I’m sorry; Senior Tang Yihan has been trying new products continuously, and it seems the recent attempts haven’t gone smoothly. I guess this is something meant for Senior Ying Shiqian to taste test but was left unprocessed.” I quickly explained, hoping Tan Han wouldn’t misunderstand.
“Whew~ Forget it, Xiao Han… can I call you Xiao Han?” Tan Han sighed and spoke up, but then realized that addressing me this way seemed inappropriate, so she tentatively asked.
“Sure, of course.” I nodded quickly; after all, I was used to being called this nickname.
“Then you can also call me Little Tan; actually, others have always called me Little Tan, and the Store Manager calling me Little Han feels a bit strange.”
“Alright.”
I nodded quickly. Regardless of whether what Tan Han said was true, it’s always good to establish some distinction; otherwise, it would be quite awkward if both of us responded.
Moreover, considering the huge disparity in status between Tan Han and me, I needed to maintain some pride.
“Xiao Han, can you get me a slice of the red velvet cake from the store? My connection to Witch Academy started with that red velvet cake, but unfortunately, I didn’t get to taste it at that time.”
“Um… okay.”
I looked at Tan Han with some surprise, not expecting her to mention this matter proactively. Just a moment ago, I had been deliberately avoiding mentioning anything about Witch Academy, especially since she had been brought here; I didn’t want to provoke her.
Even though she seemed stable now, and appeared to have accepted everything, her earlier words indicated that her level of acceptance was higher than I had imagined?
How did the academy manage to comfort her? Normally, someone like this academic goddess should be the proud type, right?
Even this non-chatty type shouldn’t be like this?
But since she brought up the red velvet cake, I had to get busy. The red velvet cake was our bakery’s signature product, the one every delivery student came here to pick up.
The reason behind this warmed my heart, as our red velvet online bakery only had red velvet cake as the sole item.
So, since this was Tan Han’s request, I naturally drew out a whole uncut red velvet cake without hesitation.
The top layer of shiny red silky cream wrapped around the inner crimson sponge cake. Although the taste was quite ordinary, that was not the special meaning our Store Manager had infused into it.
“Is this whole piece for me?”
Tan Han asked as she looked at the entire red velvet cake I brought over. Clearly, her intention was that there was no way she could finish this much.
“I’ll cut it for you.”
As I spoke, I picked up the cutting tool specifically used for slicing cakes. I truly enjoyed this part; the feeling of the blade smoothly sinking in was fantastic. The tactile sensation was great, but unfortunately, there weren’t many customers visiting the store, so my chances to experience it were limited.
I quickly handed a small plate with a piece of cake to her, while I wiped the bright red cream off the cutting tool, which felt somewhat like handling a weapon.
“Enjoy.”
I eagerly handed her a small fork, then went to get busy, like taking away the cake that had embarrassed Tan Han earlier. I wasn’t sure if she still wanted it; if not, I would have to throw it away.
After all, that was another dark dish; although when I got close, it oddly didn’t smell bad.
As for the taste, that was something to ask Tan Han, but I didn’t have the courage to bring it up, mainly for fear of getting hit.
After taking the dark cake to the back, I returned, but I saw that Tan Han had placed the few bites of red velvet cake on the table and seemed to have no intention of continuing.
“What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?” I held the already sliced cake; it was now unsuitable for the display case, so it was better to cut and serve.
“It’s nothing; I just feel that the taste is more ordinary than I expected.”
“It is indeed quite ordinary.” I agreed, but even for me, I wouldn’t waste half of a cake just because it was ordinary; I’m not that picky.
Sure enough, our thinking patterns as girls are somewhat different, or maybe Tan Han was currently on a diet and couldn’t eat too much?
Girls should love desserts, right? And Tan Han didn’t seem to have any need to diet.
Although this bit of waste was nothing compared to what the seniors wasted during their product experiments.
